Field
Aspects of the present invention generally relate to an image forming apparatus, a method for controlling an image forming apparatus, and a program for storing a personal setting value for individual users and changing a default value and a behavior of processing according to the personal setting value.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, image forming apparatuses have been provided with various functions, and contents of operations performed by users have been also becoming complicated. Generally, such an image forming apparatus is often shared among a plurality of users. Therefore, an automatic clear function of automatically clearing a setting value after a predetermined time period has elapsed is used. After a user changes a setting, this automatic clear function prevents a next user from using the image forming apparatus without noticing the changed setting. Such a use configuration requires a user to select a desired setting screen from an initial menu of the image forming apparatus each time the user starts to use the image forming apparatus. Therefore, even when an individual user normally uses a fixed setting, the user has to bother to configure the same setting every time.
Therefore, there is proposed an image forming apparatus that stores a setting for each individual in the image forming apparatus to provide an environment user-friendly to each individual user.
For example, if a user A logs in with a layout setting set to “1-in-1” and a finishing setting set to “no finishing” as default values of job settings of a copy function for the user A, the user A can use the copy function with these settings. Further, if another user B logs in with the layout setting set to “2-in-1” and the finishing setting set to “top right stapling” as default values of the default job settings of the copy function for the user B, the user B can use the copy function with these settings.
Further, as another example, even when a display language is set to “Japanese” in the image forming apparatus, by setting the display language to “English” as a personal setting for the user A who wants to use the image forming apparatus with the display language set to “English”, when the user A logs in, the display language setting is switched to “English” first and each function is displayed in English.
In this manner, there is implementation of storing the setting for each individual in the image forming apparatus, and providing the environment user-friendly to each individual user.
In the case where the image forming apparatus is configured to store the setting for each user therein, this configuration results in registration of a large number of personal setting values with the single image forming apparatus. Further, the image forming apparatus is often fixedly placed on a floor of an office, and accordingly the single image forming apparatus is used by an extremely large number of users due to personnel transfers and newly-hired employees. As a result, a large number of settings are stored therein.
The image forming apparatus has a limited resource as a storage capacity thereof, and there is a function of imposing an upper limit on a capacity for setting values storable by one user (a quota function).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-213356 discusses a technique for limiting access to data upon exceeding a storage capacity for each individual in a data storage service for storing data for each user.